title: Steps/day and metabolic syndrome in African American adults: the Jackson Heart Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relationship between pedometer-measured step count data and the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) in African American adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  379 African American adults (mean age 60.1 years; 60% female) enrolled in the Jackson Heart Study (Jackson, MS) from 2000 to 2004 provided sufficient pedometer data for inclusion in this analysis. MetS was classified according to the International Diabetes Federation Task Force on Epidemiology and Prevention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using steps/day categorized as tertiles (<3717 (referent), 3717-6238, >6238), participants taking 3717-6238 (Odds Ratio (OR)(95% Confidence Interval (CI))=0.34 (0.19, 0.61)) and >6238 steps/day (OR(95% CI)=0.43 (0.23, 0.78)) had lower odds of having MetS compared to participants in the lowest tertile. Using previously suggested steps/day cut-points (<2500 (referent), 2500-4999, 5000-7499, ≥7500), the odds of having MetS were lower for participants taking 2500-4999 (OR(95% CI)=0.32 (0.14, 0.72)), 5000-7499 (OR(95% CI)=0.22 (0.09, 0.53)), and >7500 (OR(95% CI)=0.26 (0.11, 0.65)) steps/day compared to those taking <2500 steps/day.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compared to lower levels, higher levels of steps/day are associated with a lower prevalence of MetS in this older African American population.
authors.affiliation: Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins Rd., Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA. Electronic address: NewtonRL@pbrc.edu.
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Newton
authors.forename: Hongmei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: DeMarc A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hickson
authors.forename: Timothy S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Church
authors.forename: Herman A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Catrine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tudor-Locke
authors.forename: Patricia M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Dubbert
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008922:Mississippi / Q000453:epidemiology; D009043:Motor Activity; D012307:Risk Factors; D016138:Walking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: African Americans; Behavior; Cardiovascular disease risk; Health disparities; Pedometer